


Under the sea

by CMDAK



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: M/M, Mermaid Q, Multi, Octopus Alec, Sharkman James, no sex despite the huge amount of tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-23 17:48:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6125001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMDAK/pseuds/CMDAK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Bond fascinated the prince even more than all of the human and merman technology combined. And why wouldn’t he? But he is sure he is nothing more than a task to James and devastated when he meets Alec.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the sea

**Author's Note:**

> No excuse for this other than me getting stuck with an image of them like this. Do hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> Please excuse any and all mistakes.

James Bond fascinated the prince even more than all of the human and merman technology combined. And why wouldn’t he? This man whose ancestry led directly to the Megalodon who even his ancestors feared did what others like him never bothered to do: rose through the guard ranks until they were given the great honour of becoming the captain of the guards as well as being entrusted with the life and safety of the kingdom’s future that came in the form of protecting the crowned prince in times of danger.

 

But more than that, the prince was fascinated by the way James acted. He wasn’t vicious or cruel unless forced and even then he sought the less violent option. In fact, James acted more like a whale shark, lazily swimming around the palace, shamefully flirting with everyone that swam near him and scoring more than anyone in their kingdom.

 

Well, he flirted with _almost_ everyone – members of the royal family included, and his grandma no exception, despite the fact that the old mermaid didn’t put any effort behind the tail whack she gave the shark-man every time he stepped over that line. The exception appeared to be the Q, the crowned prince and future ruler of all the waters and the creatures that lived in them.

 

Oh, James teased him to no end, tugged on his tail and fins, swam circles around him until the young man allowed him to take the various things he was carrying, and he spent a huge chunk of his free time in his laboratory with him, but he never, not even once winked, tickled his dorsal fin or bumped into him in that special way of his that always landed him a pretty little thing in his lair for the night.

 

Q had an idea why as everyone whispered when they thought he was out of the hearing range about the three distinctive and rather disgusting marks that an octopus left behind on his stomach, side and back when he had been a really small child. He didn’t remember much about that attack, just the pain of being crushed and of those three, individual talons from within the octopus’ suckers piercing his skin, lots of dark yellow mixed with the redness of his blood, and then James’ smell and arms as he was carried to safety.

 

They were sure he was going to die back then, especially since he had been infected with another of those creatures horrible venom. But he survived with only those marks, an idea of a name that always eluded him, bad eyesight, and maybe a predisposition to getting sick a lot more than he should have.

 

He didn’t really think the marks were all that disgusting and for the first few weeks he had seen them, he felt elated and proud to have them. He didn’t know why and he could explain that even less, but when he looked at them, he was happy. But then his father had explained what creature had put them there, had taken them to the archives where he showed him files of the bloody war that raged between the two for the right to wear the crown and he had been scared and ashamed.

 

“Daydreaming again, Q?” James teasing voice came from right above him and he tilted his head back just as he bumped into a wall, dropping the books he had in his arms.

 

“Not even a word, Bond,” he growled, trying really hard not to stare at the shark-man’s beautiful tail that was covered in scratches and bite marks. Docile and always looking for the peaceful way out, but a fierce warrior with little care for his own scales if his charge or his people were in danger – that was his James.

 

“I wasn’t going to point out that this is what happens when you don’t pay attention to where you are going, honestly,” James said in the fakest honest voice he could muster, lazily rolling above Q to give him a full view of his body before ducking down to pick up the dropped books. “Humans lost something interesting again?”

 

“Don’t they always?” He held his hands out, expecting James to give him the books back, but the shark-man grinned and slowly started to swim away, inviting Q to follow him. “Not again, Bond! Don’t you have soldiers you need to force swim after you? Or pretty little fish that you have to chase off with a harpoon?” He asked, swimming faster and faster, trying to grab the book that was just out of his reach.

 

James suddenly stopped and Q crashed right into him, both of them floating to the bottom of the room. “Neither of them needs to catch their breath as much as you do after something as simple as this, little prince; well, the latter do, but because of something that’s a little bit more taxing than swimming around.”

 

He winked at Q and Q rolled his eyes, trying to focus on his irritation towards the shark-man and not the jealousy on the others. “I rarely leave the castle grounds—”

 

“You always do, despite what your father thinks,” James interrupted him, arranging the books in Q’s arms.

 

“Fine, I do, but you are always right behind me, protecting me. Do I really need to go through these most annoying things you insist on calling exercises instead of what they really are, and namely, torture? I do swim very fast, even if I can’t last long.” He let out a long sigh when he saw how amused James looked. “I said ‘swim’, Bond. Do grow up and make yourself useful by carrying in the box I left in the other room.”

 

“Is this an official invitation to your laboratory, Q?” James teased, circling him. “Should I feel honoured? Should I mark this day down in my calendar? Should I ask—?”

 

Q swam away fast, taking sharp turn, knowing that James would give chase without a second thought and hoping that he’d bump into a wall or something – even though that _never_ happened.

 

Just as the doors to his laboratory came into view, Q’s chest started to sting and he suddenly coughed, dropping his books as he covered his gills. Normally, his strength would have lasted him longer than this, but since James just had to force him into a chase...

 

“Slow breaths, Q,” James was whispering as he circled above him, running his hands through his hair and down his back. “You did a wonderful job and you almost shook me off your pretty red tail, you know. And, to top everything off, you lasted longer than the last time.”

 

“Doesn’t mean... your training... is a good... cure,” Q gasped out, hating that the good thing that came out of feeling like he was being strangled while someone ripped out his lungs was that he ended up with James pushing his chest against his back to try to regulate his breathing.

 

“I never said it was a cure, Q,” James breathed in his ear, slowly starting to roll around with the prince still glued to his chest. “It’s just something that increases your resistance which would enable you to get to safety in case I get killed.”

 

Q elbowed him hard, slowly swimming into his laboratory. That was something he never wanted to think or talk about, even if the possibility of it happening was very high. “If you are doing being a nuisance, I think there’s a new maid you had yet to make fall in love with you.”

 

His dorsal fin was tugged again and James carefully deposited the box he was supposed to carry right in front of Q, ruffling his hair with his tail. “Actually,” he started and grinned as Q rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head. “You can’t keep up with me concerning anything, my little prince.” He rested his elbows on the table and his head in the palm of his hands, waiting to see what Q would do.

 

To the best of his abilities, Q ignored him, although every time James asked him something, he explained. When the shark-man fell silent, it usually meant that he was swimming around the upper levels of his laboratory, touching and pushing things he shouldn’t, effectively forcing Q to drop what he was doing to swim up after him and drag him back down by his tail.

 

“I wasn’t doing anything wrong this time,” James grumbled, pushing whatever Q was working on so he could roll on his desk in front of him. “Why are you glaring at me? What did I do this time?”

 

That innocent act was not working on him. He knew James knew why he was being glared at and he couldn’t care less if he was bored – although he secretly appreciated the fact that he forced himself to stay with him. Or maybe he didn’t? Should he fell offended that James had to _force_ himself to stay with him? Was it because of those marks? Maybe they made people physically ill? James didn’t look green in the face and there weren’t little bubbles coming out of his gills that were the tell-tale sign of someone about to puke so—

 

“Did I break you?” James asked, poking his forehead. “Hello? Are you still with me?”

 

Q slapped James’ hand away, huffing. “You didn’t ‘break’ me, Bond. But you might have broken one of these things.” He quickly started to check the human devices he had recovered from the shipwreck, not because he was really worried about them being even more damaged than they had been when he found them, but because James was too close for him and he wasn’t suffocation to be distracted from that.

 

The currents around them changed suddenly and James was out the door in a flash. “Try not to hurt yourself,” he called behind his shoulder, too far to hear Q’s offended gasp or witty quip.

 

That was something the shark-man always did and he refused to give a straight answer as to where he went, despite having absolutely no problem doing that in general. He just said that he needed to attend something, apologized - which he never did, so whatever he was doing must have been very important - and then found a really clever way to change the subject or get whoever was interrogating him to focus on someone or something else.

 

Q had briefly thought that James might have been hiding a lover, before he realized just what a stupid thought it was. The shark-man was open about all of his relationships and although he never shared details with Q, the young prince had eavesdropped on more than one occasion on some of his conversations with his men and he knew he even participated in orgies - he never named the other participants, but someone with a keen eye had no problem figuring them out.

 

So no, lovers were out of the question. Family, maybe? James was an orphan, so that kind of family was out of the question, as well as one that he might have formed because everyone in the ocean knew about what a lady and man killer he was. Few dared to hope to change him and those who did were rejected by James, the shark-man explaining that he refused to break their hearts and dreams.

 

Well, he decided that today he would finally get an answer to all of his questions and swam after James, not afraid that he might lose him because he had attached on his tail a small tracking device he had stolen from the humans and adapted to work with their technology.

 

He was led out of the city, away from the partially safe zone that was avoided like the plague because it was rumoured that a lone octopus was occasionally swimming there, over the great wrecked ship that humans had only recently rediscovered and straight into the temple of Q’s direct ancestor to which humans had prayed a long time ago.

 

This zone was very dangerous because although merman and all creatures that did not oppose them respected this sacred zone, even if it had been built by their walking brothers and sisters, octopuses had no quarrel living there. Why should they fear ancient statues and why should they show respect to a creature that had long since abandoned them and stolen all of their powers?

 

Something white sparkling in the distance caught his eye and Q started to swim so close to the bottom of the ocean that his stomach was almost flat against it. He hid inside a giant broken urn until James started to move again and then quickly started to swim from one fallen columns to statues, subtly catching his breath when he could.

 

James came to a full stop in front of what was left of what had once been a great throne, looking like he was waiting for someone. Someone who was late if the way James swam around was any indication, his circle small and his moves sharp, the light from above reflecting off of his exposed fangs.

 

A fast approaching octopus caught Q’s eye, but before he could warm James, the creature had its golden tentacles wrapped around the shark-man, his face pushed against him. Q had to cover his mouth to keep from gasping out loud or letting you a startled whine when he saw the two kissing deeply, his heart dropping in his stomach.

 

James was… The captain of the guards and… His trusted bodyguard, the shark-man he considered his friend and their best ally was… With an octopus…With their sword enemy… He was going to be sick.

 

Petrified, he continued to watch the two swim around each other, rubbing their heads together, James kissing each of the octopus’ tentacles and wrapping his tail around his middle, clearly happy. He couldn’t hear what they were saying and he couldn’t read their lips because they were too far away from him, but Q didn’t need to.

 

Feeling, cold, empty, and betrayed Q pushed away from the statue behind which he was hiding, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. He couldn’t expose James since that would result in him getting executed on the spot, but he also couldn’t allow a traitor to keep their position and title, even if nothing bad had happened so far.

 

So lost in his thoughts he was that he missed the shadow that loomed over him until tentacles wrapped around his middle and tail and pulled him flush against the octopus’ chest. “Oh, what a pretty little thing I have caught myself,” murmured the octopus, sending shivers down Q’s spine. “And my poor, pretty little thing is so cold that he’s shivering. Let me hold you tighter to warm– Ugh!”

 

Panicked and ruled by the urge to survive, his marks hurting, Q put all of his strength behind his tail swat and bolted out of there, swimming as fast as he could. A look behind his shoulder showed that the octopus had given chase and he headed straight for a fallen statue, taking a sharp turn, hoping that the creature would smash right into it.

 

“Powerful kick you got there, pretty little thing. It’s not powerful enough to really hurt me, but you kick a lot harder than the last time we saw each other,” the octopus teased for behind him and Q took another sharp turn and then another, cussing every time he heard it chuckle right behind him, telling him that he swam too slow.

 

He almost swam into James, but he ducked down just in time and forced himself to go even faster. “Q, wait! You got this all wrong! This really isn’t what you think! Q, let me explain, _please_!” He called after him, but Q just covered his ears and continued to swim, trying to focus on his fear instead of how his insides were burning and how his gills had lost their synchronization.

 

Their friendship wasn’t what he had thought it was. James loyalty to him and his people wasn’t what he thought. Every little think he thought he knew about the shark-man wasn’t what he thought it was. At least now he understood why James had looked worried for a second when Q joked about him sleeping with their enemy - because he _was_.

 

“Pretty little thing, this game of ours would be more fun if you weren’t swimming straight for danger,” the octopus yelled and Q stopped suddenly, waiting for a moment for the two to get passed him before he started to swim up.

 

It was then that his gills closed up and his tail cramped, and he slowly started to drift backwards in the waiting arms of his enemies, his chest burning as it filled with nothing but water. His scars hurt so much and if his heart was beating so hard and fast that Q expected to see it jump from his chest, the world around him turning black.

 

He felt tentacles wrap themselves around him and he felt fingers starting to rub his gills, trying to get them to open again, an unfamiliar chest behind him. “Breathe,” a voice ordered him and he tried his best, but he couldn’t.

 

“Breathe,” James whispered in his ear, but he still couldn’t follow that simple command and he lost himself to the nothingness of his mind.

 

***

 

“I’ve never forgotten you,” was with what the octopus greeted him, tightening his hold on him just enough to let Q know that there was no way for him to escape from this tentacles this time. “Curious, pretty little thing–”

 

“Q, just call me Q. I am no more a thing than you are, so respect your prisoner enough to call him by his name. We do the same to your people when we catch him,” Q interrupted him, trying to elbow him in the neck.

 

The octopus leaned over him to look him in the eyes, Q finally saying the scars on his face. “I can tell you from my own personal experience that they don’t really do that, even if they tell you they do, Your Royal Highness.” He glanced at his gills before relaxing his hold on him, sighing. “But, you do treat us better than our own and better than we treat your kind, I admit that.”

 

Q remained silent and looked around them, noting that they were in a cave, no James in sight. To his right, he saw the octopus’ resting place, a few personal items scattered around the large shell he surely slept in and even though this creature was his enemy, he could help but feel a bit bad for him.

 

“We know each other,” the octopus repeats again, turning Q around until he was hanging upside down above his head. “Why do you look at me like I am a stranger?”

 

There was something about his colour and his eyes, but…Q shook his head. “Where’s Bond?” He asked instead, trying not to react as the octopus continued to turn him around.

 

“Taking care of some trash that spotted a pretty little thing swimming around in their territory,” the creature muttered, bringing the side of his body closer to his face. “Do you remember when and how you get these?” He asked, poking Q’s scars, making him flinch. “Do they hurt? I didn’t mean to…” He trailed off when Q shook his head, but did not poke them again. “Do you know me?” He asked, looking sad when Q shook his head again. “But I know you.”

 

James swam in then, bleeding from his chest and Q tried to swim towards him before he could stop himself, surprised that the octopus pulled his tentacles back to let him - although one was hovering near his tail, probably to pull him back in case he attacked James or he tried to make a run for the exit.

 

“You’re conscious; that’s good,” said James and bumped their heads together lightly, lowering his head when Q slapped him.

 

“You betrayed me,” Q hissed. “You betrayed my mother and father and everyone that trusted you. And for what? What did they promise you that you didn’t already have? Did we do something to insult you?” What he really wanted to ask was if he had done something to make him switch sides. “Answer me, Bond!” he ordered when the shark-man remained silent before him. “Don’t I at least deserve to know for what you stabbed me in the back for?”

 

James’ head snapped up, eyes wide. “I didn’t betray you; I didn’t betray anyone.”

 

Q smacked him again. “Don’t lie to me! I saw you and him and you two were _close_.”

 

Tentacles were around his arms before he could smack James again, but they weren’t actually hurting him - not that they did before either; it was just his scars that were acting up, phantom pains mixed with that fear inside of him which he refused to acknowledge on a conscious level. “Well, the two of us are lovers. What did you expect, pretty little Q? A pat on the back after seven days when we were apart? A cold, firm handshake? You know James loves to touch and I am surprised that you aren’t-”

 

“No,” James said, slowly shaking his head and the octopus turned to look at him, blinking a few times before his eyes widened as if he had suddenly realized something. “We’ll talk about that after I take him home. This would be his second fit today and he needs his rest.”

 

He reached towards him but Q pulled back, afraid.

 

“Shall I take this as you wanting to sleep in my lair tonight?” The octopus whispered in his ear, drumming his fingers on his sides. “I must refresh your memory when it comes to my sleeping behaviour, which is that I will attach myself to you like a barnacle on a whale.”

 

What did he mean by 'refresh’? “You’re insane if you think I’ll willingly stay near you.” He swam towards James, but pulled back a little when the shark-man tried to touch him and glanced back at the grinning octopus who opened his all of his arms and wiggled his eyebrows at him. Confused and annoyed, he floated down to the bottom of the ocean and wrapped his arms around his tail, resting his head on it.

 

“I will never harm you,” James said softly, circling around him. “Neither would he, even if his little chasing game scared you.”

 

“Game?” Q hissed, looking up to glare at him. “I thought he was going to kill me.”

 

Alec tapped the top of Q’s head with one of his tentacles to get his attention. “I thought you remembered me; I thought you remembered our game.” He moved a tentacle in front of him and bent it so that six of his suckers touched then, after a few seconds, pulled them back, making a loud popping sound that sounded familiar.

 

He listened to the octopus do that for an entire minute, mesmerized by the little song he had created, starting to hum it and followed the rhythm with his tail on the ocean’s floor. It was scary and calming at the same time, the yellow tentacles so close to his face forcing him to remember _something_.

 

“Do you remember me now?” the octopus asked, eyes filled with hope. “Do you remember our game? Do you remember us?”

 

“I remember…” Q started, closing his eyes tightly. He remembered pain and fear and yellow tentacles that dug in his side and hurt him. He remembered crying out and red and blue blood freely floating around him and then he remembered seeing his father – upset, mortified, scared – and his mother – terrified and tense. There was also a name somewhere in there, a name he said so many times; a name that was on the tip of his tongue.

 

James was impatient again, swimming back and forth between them and the exit, glancing outside and hitting the cave’s walls with his tail. “I don’t think this is the place of the time, _Alec._ ”

 

That was the name.

 

“You…I _do_ know you,” Q said suddenly, covering his scars. “You’re the reason why I got these!” He accused, pointing at his scars. He turned towards James and he felt even more betrayed when he saw his face. “You complete bastard, you _knew_.” Of course he knew; James had saved him back then. James had swum back into the city with Q’s body. “Did you hook up with him right after my attack?”

 

He tried to bolt again, but the octopus grabbed him and forced him in his strange embrace, throwing both of them on the ocean’s floor. “My family tried to take you from me and kill you,” he started to explain quickly. “I held on as tightly to you as I could until James came to help me.”

 

Q was struggling, trying to free at least one arm so he could punch the bastard. “You poisoned me!”

 

“He didn’t/I didn’t!” Both shark-man and octopus screamed at the same time.

 

“You got poisoned by the same person who did _this_ to me,” Alec continued to explain as he pointed at his face. “My poison doesn’t melt; it paralyzes and if I use enough of it, I can force someone’s heart to fully stop beating in less than a second. But my father’s poison melts and he was less than happy that I protected you and helped his men get shredded by James.”

 

He wanted to accuse Alec of lying, but he was getting little memory flashes in which he saw himself play with him, tugging on his golden tentacles for annoy him to the point of giving him chase and dragging both him and James to sunken ships.

 

James put his hands on his shoulders and Alec released him, both trusting that Q would not try to run away from them. “Let’s go home, Q.”

 

“I’ll tell father,” the merman warned, close to tears. “I’ll tell father you betrayed us and he’ll kill you and your lover.”

 

“Kill me, but spare Alec.”

 

Only once in his life had he heard James sound so desperate and that had been when Q was close to death. He really loved the octopus, Q realized, and that hurt. Still, for everything that James had done for him and his family, for the fierce way he had protected his land, and because no surprise attacks had taken place despite the many opportunities that had been offered, Q would keep their secret.

 

However…“If I get the smallest impression that my kingdom will be attacked…” He trailed off and swam ahead, the world outside greeting him with corpses of octopuses of various shapes and sizes, James quickly covering his eyes as he started to guide him back to the palace.

 

“Thank you,” James whispered in his ear.

 

Sleep eluded him that night and he tossed and turned until he gave up and swam outside, feeling like he needed the cold water beyond the castle’s walls were exactly what he needed to clear his mind.

 

He didn’t get to far when he heard Alec’s song and, covering the marks he now considered ugly and disgusting, he turned in the direction it came from, hoping that he managed to hide his fear. “Do you really want me to have father execute Bond for treason? Then again, unlike Bond, you didn’t seem too worried about my earlier words. Or is it that you are here to kill me, to ensure that never happens?”

 

Alec slid into the light, tentacles twitching near Q’s tail as if they wanted to wrap themselves around him – and Q instinctively covered his scars, frowning. “I never understood why James kept me from seeing you or why you never asked him to bring you to me until today.” He moved closer and Q moved back.

 

“I’ll call for the guards,” he warned and Alec chuckled, starting to move in a lazy circle around him, much like James did.

 

“My pretty little Q, I know you won’t.” He stopped suddenly and ran a finger down Q’s scars, not bothered by the tail in the stomach he got for that. “If I had better control over myself back then and if I paid better attention to our surroundings, these wouldn’t be here.”

 

Q hit him with his tail two more times before Alec moved at a decent distance from him, resuming his circling. “Did you paralyze the guards to get here?”

 

Alec shrugged. “You mean the tall ones with dark brown and green tails and fancy armours and weapons? Fast asleep when I got here; get new ones.”

 

And James had caught those two doing that in the past and had promised to punish them if it ever happened again. Good to see that they learned absolutely nothing. “What are you doing here?”

 

The popping sound started once again, Q’s tail twitching as he forced himself not to sing along. “What does it look like I am doing?” Being a suicidal moron? Because Q could really call for the guards – the other guards; the ones that were wide awake and doing their bloody, important jobs – if he thought the octopus was here to hurt anyone. “Serenading you.” He wiggled his eyebrows and brought his tentacles closer to Q’s ear.

 

Q pushed slapped the tentacles away, frowning. “You should get out before I call the guards.”

 

Slowly, Alec turned away and started to swim away, still doing their song. “We both know you won’t, my pretty little Q.”

 

“I am not _your_ anything,” Q snapped, fuming. “And I will!”

 

“You know you won’t,” Alec sing sang, plastering himself against Q’s back. “Take good care of him, James.”

 

Q didn’t have to look behind him to know James was there, the shark-man’s presence powerful and clear. “Don’t even look in my direction,” Q hissed when he felt the shark-man move closer to him, slapping his tail when started to swim back to his room.

 

Morning came and James greeted him in his usual teasing way, but Q ignored him. He continued to ignore him through breakfast and thought his father took note of that and asked why, since he knew of his son’s very soft spot for the captain and the guards, Q shrugged and lied that he had a headache.

 

When he went to his laboratory, he made sure to slam shut the doors right in the shark-man’s face, surprised when James did not sneak in. He mostly sulked in there that day, and when the tides changed, he swam out, almost bumping into a half-asleep James.

 

“Do you want to go eat something? And maybe talk about yesterday and Alec?” James offered, flashing him a little smile.

 

“Not hungry, but thank you,” Q said dismissively, deciding that a little swim around the city would do him good - James followed him, of course, but Q did not acknowledge his presence.

 

That night, he was serenaded by Alec again, the octopus stopping when Q threw a rock at him and closed his windows, slamming shut the shell he slept in as hard as he could, to let the shark-man that had become a decoration against his door know just how annoyed he was with everything.

 

The following day was an exact copy of the previous one, the only difference being that this time when he threw a rock at Alec to get him to stop, the octopus threw back a large, flawless pearl. It was very beautiful and the light that it caught from the special seaweed reflected in it in such a way that Q started at it for five minutes. After that, he pulled his room’s doors open and threw it at James’ head.

 

On the following night, instead of pearls thrown at his head, Alec carefully pushed something human made in his room, winking when Q glanced at him before disappearing into the night. This gift was hard to part with, because Q wanted to go to his laboratory and take it apart, but Alec was an octopus and he shouldn’t accept any gifts from him.

 

When he opened the door, he tried really hard not to laugh at an armour-wearing James. “I can’t sleep with that thing in my room. Take it away, please.”

 

“Should I throw it?” James asked carefully, having no problem lifting the heavy machinery.

 

Huffing, Q threw rolled in his shell, pulling the covers over his head. “Yes, throw it somewhere in the back of my lab, where I can’t see it.” Only as he was falling asleep did Q realize what he had said, James huge smile instantly making sense and making him groan.

 

The gifts that followed were smaller, all from the human world and most of them water-proof. Q had spent an entire night fiddling with a brand new phone that Alec had probably swiped from a cruise ship or a yacht. He was amazed that it was still working despite how deep it was in the water and how much time it had been in it. The only reason the thing closed was because Q had used up its battery.

 

“I can take it near their power lines and use one of your tubes to suck the electricity from there to charge it,” James offered, holding Q’s hand.

 

“And I can change forms, much like you, and walk among them and compel the first person I see to let me use his charger.” He tugged his hand free and swam away from James, taking a little tool pouch from a shelf. “Things don’t always have to be so complicated, you know.”

 

“I couldn’t agree more,” James muttered, blocking Q’s way. “You should let me check whatever cave or cove you plan on using to dissect this thing before going in it. Humans have started to be a more common sight around your preferred spots and you know they’ll treat you much like you plan on treating this phone.”

 

A healthy merman or mermaid would have had no problem ditching their tail and gills in the water and breaking the surface as a human, but Q risked drowning because of his lungs if he did that. He had to get on land to lose his tail and then struggle to catch his breath while being almost completely blind because as a human, his eyesight somehow became even worse. “I was thinking of getting two guards—”

 

“The captain of the guards is better than just any two guards or the best two guards we have,” James interrupted him, entwining their tails. “Let me carry that heavy thing for you.” He had his satchel before Q could even blink, holding his hand as he swum out of the laboratory.

 

To no one’s surprise, Alec joined them as soon as they left the city, shoving his tentacles under Q’s nose to show him the many colours he could change them in. He wasn’t annoying in the true sense of the word and Q had to bite his tongue to continue with the silent treatment and to keep himself from bombarding him with questions – how did he do it? Was it based on his mood? Was yellow his natural colour or did he like that one over the rainbow he could turn himself into and so on – because it simply wouldn’t do to show so much interest in someone that was technically his enemy.

 

“This pretty far from the castle, my pretty little Q. Where are you going?” Alec asked, wrapping a tentacle around his tail to slow him down.

 

“A little cove on which I have a cottage,” Q said before he could stop himself, mentally kicking himself.

 

Alec looked positively delighted to hear that, throwing an arm around him. “Does this mean that I get to see your legs?”

 

Q plucked Alec’s arm from around him and swam a little faster, trying to hit the octopus in the face. “Well, since the cottage isn’t underwater…”

 

“Can I see them wrapped around my—”

 

James covered Alec’s mouth, flashing Q a grin. “He’ll stop talking, I promise. Won’t you, Alec?” The octopus frowned, but nodded when James tightened his grip around his neck. “So no reason to drop anything and go back to the castle where both of us will be banished from your sights, right Alec?”

 

Alec’s eyes widened a little and he nodded furiously, pulling James’ hands away from his mouth with his tentacles. “I’ll be so quiet that you won’t even know that I am there, my pretty little Q. By the way, what are you going to do there?”

 

Of course Alec would be as full of questions as James. “Because I want to see how the phone you gifted me with works and why they managed to make it so resistant. Thank you, by the way,” he added in a whisper, yelping when Alec brushed his lips against his temple.

 

“I can get you so many things, my pretty little Q. You know, I have a very—”

 

“I can tell you are here and I am suddenly thinking about going back to the castle, where I shall spend the rest of the day being upset because I couldn’t do what I love,” Q murmured and Alec instantly slapped three tentacles around his mouth, moving behind the merman, where he could no longer be seen.

 

But once they reached the cove and neither of them had tentacles or tails, it became impossible for Q to pretend that the octopus wasn’t with them because, unlike James and himself, Alec did not feel the need to cover his exposed manhood and it made it really hard for Q to look away.

 

The bastard even wiggled his hips when he noticed that he was being watched and then proceeded to stretch and flex his muscles, hoping that this ridiculous – and yet hot – ritual would get Q to jump on him.

 

“You are quite noticeable, Alec,” Q pointed out, carefully removing the battery from the phone.

 

“I know, but since you’re already here, it will be quite a shame to drop this and go back, right?” His smile dropped when he saw how unamused Q looked and he glanced at James who threw a pair of shorts at his head. “Don’t I look pleasing at least like this? You didn’t like my colours at all.”

 

Q really shouldn’t be bothered by Alec’s sad voice tone or by the fact that he had hurt an octopus’ feelings, but his heart strings were embarrassingly easy to pull. “Your colours were lovely and I was very impressed when you managed to make rings appear on you. And this form is also quite… appealing,” he said carefully, clearing his throat, “but it is not exactly safe to be naked when I am working. Isn’t that right, James?”

 

“Oh? Ah, yes. Last time, he pushed some buttons that sent some sort of blades shooting out from what appeared to be a perfectly normal suitcase which almost castrated me,” the shark-man lied through his teeth and not in a convincing way either.

 

But Alec still played along and sat next to him almost as closely as James was, asking him all sort of questions and touching parts of the phone Q really wished he didn’t. It ended up being a very nice day, much to Q’s surprise, and James and Alec even got him to sit on the empty beach long enough to watch the sun setting with them.

 

Alongside the octopus’ odd behaviour, Q also had to put up with James’. He had stopped disappearing for short periods of time with staff members - only to show up covered in love bites and looking more than satisfied – was more attentive with Q, brushed against him every little chance he got, and stuck to Q like a barnacle even if there were some days in which he was completely ignored.

 

Finally having enough of the whole thing, especially since his dreams were plagued by what the doctor had assured him to be his lost memories and since he was stuck humming that blasted song, Q ordered James in his room as soon as night fell and silently waited for Alec to make his appearance.

 

“I thought it was clear by now that I will not reveal your relationship,” he said the second he saw a yellow tentacle sneaking in his room, startling Alec so much that he dropped what he had in it. “So trying to buy my silence is-”

 

“I’m courting you,” Alec deadpanned, pouring in Q’s room. “On behalf of James as well since it has been explained to me that he failed in getting it across that you are more than a fling to him by treating you differently from everyone else.”

 

Q needed a moment to collect his thoughts, opening and closing his mouth three times before he finally managed to form actual words. “We do not have to be mated for me to keep this secret,” he stuttered, trying really hard to keep his cool and to keep looking the octopus in the eye, James sitting so close to him making it kind of hard for him to breathe. “I understand that you two are important to each other,” as well as baffled that Alec could accept James’ sleeping around if they were mated, but that wasn’t the point, “and since I’ve seen nothing to indicate that we’re going to be offered on a silver platter to your people, I will not take any action against the two of you.”

 

Alec looked offended. “You got it all wrong; I am courting you because we want you as our mate.” He moved to the window, ruffling Q’s hair and touching his scars, “But I understand why you wouldn’t believe that and I know just the right thing to do to prove that what I am saying is the truth.”

 

“Alec, if you start bringing him octopus heads over what we agreed, I swear that I will rip your tentacles and beat you over that empty heard of yours,” James said in an exasperated voice, grabbing his tentacles before the octopus could swim away. “Q, you mean–”

 

Someone banged loudly on the door and Alec suddenly changed colours, running to the window before cussing and starting to look desperately around the room. Q, however, managed to keep his wits about him and pulled Alec to his clam, trying to somehow completely hide the huge octopus under the kelp.

 

“Your Royal Highness, someone said they saw an octopus sneaking around and we found traces that seem to support those claims! Are you in any danger?” A guard called out and James let out an annoyed sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

 

“Keep him busy if you don’t want your lover beheaded or worse because no one is going to buy the courting story,” Q hissed, slapping away a tentacle that tried to wrap itself around him. “And you stop moving already! I am trying to help.”

 

“Your Royal Majesty, I am coming in,” guard shouted in clear panic and Q let out a strangled noise.

 

“As if he would be able to tell you if he were,” James said quickly, opening the door just enough to stick his head through it. “The prince has a headache and I’ve been with him since the tides changed. The room is clear. Have you secured the area around the castle?”

 

“Sir, I–”

 

“Have you secured the area?” James asked again, punctuation each and every word, showing the now terrified guard his sharp teeth, letting out a low hum as a warning.

 

“Y-yes, we have!” James started to close the door, but the guard threw himself against it, eyes closed. “B-but I still need to personally see with my own eyes that the prince is not in any danger because the king ordered me to do so!”

 

Having finally managed to properly conceal Alec in the kelp, Q jumped on him and pulled the covers over him, letting out a low, painful moan. “Bond, let him do what he was ordered so I can go back to dying in peace.” He let out a whimper and threw his arm over his head, turning with his back to the guard.

 

James was actually fuming that the guard got tricked and left almost immediately, because Q was a horrible actor – his moans making James think of something else and he almost pitied Alec right now – and everybody knew that he was never vocal in his suffering.

 

“I’ll make him do five laps around the city,” he growled, swimming in short circles around a chair, flexing his fingers. “And I’ll send him back to training school for this. How dare he not detect the stress in your voice? And also force him to get his eyes checked because a tentacle tip popped out from under you five times to pat your head.”

 

“Six times,” Q corrected him, slightly panicked that he was now plastered against Alec’s chest, his tentacles constantly rearranging the covers and his hair. “More importantly, can you sneak him out of my room and the city?”

 

James shook his head, closing the windows. “I am satisfied with the way the guards outside are behaving, even if it sadly means that Alec is stuck in here for a bit.” He grabbed the tentacle that was playing in Q’s hair and, after making sure that the prince wouldn’t be hurt, he pulled Alec out from under him. “Though, if his presence here is really bothering you and our attentions are unwanted, I can hide him in my room until it will be safe to sneak out of the city.”

 

It was clear what James was subtly asking him, so Q took a minute to think. His returning memory proved that Alec was telling the truth about their friendship, but Q had been raised to look at octopuses with distrust and fear so it was understandable why his heart still dropped in his stomach when he saw the gold tentacles float towards and around him.

 

But if he ignored the incident in his childhood – and in his dreams, Alec was crying and apologising to him – and the little chase when they met again – which both Alec and James insisted that was nothing more than a little game – Alec hadn’t done anything to warrant Q’s wariness. And then, there was the fact that Alec was very important to James and James meant the world to Q.

 

If he added the new information to all of that, Q definitely couldn’t force James to risk getting Alec caught. “He can continue hiding in my room,” he said slowly, flinching when two tentacles wrapped themselves around him and pulled him to Alec’s chest, the octopus hugging him tightly.

 

“Can I also continue hiding under you? It is really quite comfortable and I can even give you a back and tail massage if you want. James does so love it when I do that,” Alec offered and Q hit him with his tail in the stomach to get him to let go.

 

“I’d rather sleep on a bed made out of jellyfish and to let urchins mate on my back than to let you do any of those—”

 

“I wouldn’t mate on your back,” Alec interrupted him, slipping out from under him. “Nor would I sting it, despite my actions as a desperate child.” His tentacles hovered over Q’s scars, face mournful. “I believe I have a lot to prove to you before you even consider me a worthy candidate for your heart, my pretty little Q.”

 

“No more than I,” James murmured, swimming to Q’s armoire. “Might I suggest he sleeps and hides in here? It is completely useless to you.”

 

A good idea with which Q agreed, but he still feared that the new guards James would surely appoint would insist on checking every corner in his room before allowing him to re-enter it and kill Alec on sight.

 

James smirked and did a little circle around Q, tugging on his dorsal fin. “No complaints on my part, Q. You wouldn’t believe how much I missed being acknowledged and I know you will do so this time, because I snore.”

 

***

 

Sharing a room with an octopus was interesting, to say the least. Even though Q had arranged his armoire - which he had James steal off of an old sunken ship just because it looked nice and it seemed to him like it tied his room together, as an article in a magazine said - in such a way that it was a nice and comfortable bed, the octopus still slithered out from there and somehow ended on his bed. There wasn’t a single morning in which he didn’t wake up with a face full of tentacles and a shark’s tail over his stomach, because James was also unable to sleep in his own bed.

 

He was also put to sleep by the octopus singing and he always woke up in a good mood and humming the song, good mood that disappeared the instant he wanted to roll away but couldn’t because a clingy cephalopod mollusc had no idea what personal space was and hugged to tighter to him, pushing his head against his chest and forcing James back on top of them, while mumbling about being too early.

 

“Alec, if I don’t go to breakfast, father will barge in here, see you, and all of this would have been for naught,” Q said every bloody time, clawing and biting the tentacles around him. “Let me go.”

 

“Let him come, I don’t care. I’ll paralyze him and run away with you and James.”

 

Huffing, Q always held a tentacle to James’ mouth because the octopus only really felt the shark-man’s bite. “Though I live swimming around in ships and some ruins and maybe take an occasional nap,” which he hadn’t done since Alec moved in his room, “living in one is not exactly something I really want to do, especially since I might not survive the night if your brethren find me.”

 

“Please, as if James or I would let any–OUCH! James, let go, let go! This is not the sexy nibbling I like, James! James, you’re chewing threw it! Q!”

 

Q would slip away from between the two and watched them wrestle until it became obvious that they were about to do something else, point when he went to breakfast. He’d always eat only a little at the table, claim that he was feeling ill again and then ask for one of the servants to pile send a tray full of food to his room, asking extra for James as well because ‘he has been up all night, trying to make the headache go away’.

 

His father looked at James with suspicion after the seventh time that happened and ended up barging in Q’s room, sure that he would catch the captain of the guards defiling him. Luckily for them, the king had accidentally cut himself on his way to Q’s room and James, realizing that the scent of blood was becoming stronger, stuffed Alec back in the armoire, pushed Q in the bed and then started to read out loud from a book.

 

“Father, are we being attacked?” Q breathed out, struggling to open one eye as James dropped the book in favour of helping him sit upright. “Do we have to evacuate?”

 

His father looked almost apologetic as he leaned over him and kissed his forehead, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “We are safe, my child.” He glanced at James, sighing. “This was just your foolish father assuming the worse. I am sorry for disturbing and scaring you.”

 

Alec poured out of the armoire and attached himself to Q the second James announced that the coast was clear. “To be fair,” the grinning octopus said right against Q’s ear as James swam in a lazy circle around them, ignoring the little growling noise the merman was letting out, “I wouldn’t trust someone as hot as you with James either.”

 

The following day, Q’s room was filled with an army of doctors who poked, probed and questioned him, desperately trying to find out what was causing him the horrible headaches. James made it no secret that he hated the doctors and actually snapped - literally - at the one who pierced Q’s scarred skin to draw blood, Alec almost exposing himself if it hadn’t been for Q suddenly jumping up from clam and throwing himself against the armoire.

 

“It surprised me,” Q deadpanned. “Also, I am very sure that my headache isn’t coming from those scars, but from stress. And this is quite stressful for me right now.” He leaned forward a bit and James was next to him in an instant, supporting him.

 

“But-”

 

“He said you’re stressing him,” James snapped, taking Q back to his bed. “So you better all leave before I decide that you are a menace to the one I have sworn to protect from any and all danger and do something about it the might leave my Q scarred in a different way.”

 

Q’s heart skipped more than a beat, especially when James tail wrapped around his and _something_ suddenly dawned on the doctors, because they were all starting to leave, assuring him that they would inform his father that he was suffering from stress and nothing else. “But your royal highness should really just tell your father about this,” the eldest of the doctors said, trying really hard to maintain his professionalism. “It would help lower his tension, after he is convinced not to execute the captain,” he added in a whisper, clearing his throat.

 

They left before Q could even try to correct the man, James’ huge smirk and the possessive way he had his tail wrapped around his not helping at all. And then Alec jumped out of the armoire, gluing himself to Q and James as he usually did. However, the thing that he did for the first time had Q frozen in his spot, not because he felt sick or it felt wrong, but because he _liked_ it.

 

Alec’s lips against one of his scar, his tentacles gently touching the others felt so sexual and intimate that Q had to bite his lower lip to keep himself from letting out a moan. He lost that battle when James’ tongue replaced one of the tentacles and before they even know what was happing, Q had disappeared from the room.

 

He took refuge in the laboratory, his sweet domain that he had not visited ever since Alec had taken refuge in his room. For that matter, he had not really left the castle since then, afraid that the octopus would be discovered by nosy maids or that he would do something stupid like wander out in search for him and bump into guards. His father would assume that James had forced him into keeping the octopus a secret and their execution would be over even before Q could get a word in.

 

“Did we do something we shouldn’t have done?” James asked carefully, not daring to move an inch away from the laboratory’s door.

 

Q really wanted to say yes, cuss both of them for being bloody adorable and lovable. But he couldn’t because it was his brain’s fault for being faulty. Maybe his nurse had dropped him on it when his mother had given birth to him. Or maybe the poison of Alec’s father had melted it – the doctors did say that he had suffered for so long because his insides had been almost boiled.

 

“I just need a little bit of space for myself,” he said eventually. “And if I feel like I am a day away from losing my mind in that room, I can only imagine what you and Alec must feel.”

 

“It’s the temptation that drives us mad and nothing else. We haven’t spent this much time together since we were all young and although you don’t remember, you were right there with us, asking Alec to drag you around with his tentacles wrapped around you and making him find a piece of land where you could swing from them.” He looked nostalgic as he said that and Q really wished that he could remember those times. “Do you want Alec to disappear? I think enough time has passed for me to be able to convince the king to pull back some of the guards in and around the castle so I can sneak Alec out.”

 

The way out of this whole mess has just been presented to him on a silver platter. But did Q take it? Did he nod his head graciously? “I will back you up in front of father and even insist that I’ve been feeling sick because of the useless security, but Alec may remain around the castle if he so wishes.” No, no he didn’t. He kicked it because conflicting feelings made him dumb like that.

 

Smiling, James rolled on his back and took one of Q’s hands, pulling him to sit on his stomach. “Well, to be honest, you are stuck with the both of us until you tell us that you’re not interested.” He cupped Q’s chin and tugged him closer, their noses almost touching – something he had never done to him or to anyone else; his hourly love interests were the ones who threw themselves at him and he never had to make the first move. “Is this bothering you, Q? Did Alec’s touches disgust you? Did mine?”

 

He really shouldn’t have leaned forward, but this was the least dumb thing he had done in months – not that he really regretted any of his choices.

 

The kiss he pictured was rough, his mouth filled with the taste of his own blood – he had seen some of James’ former lovers swim proudly around with bruised lips – but the one he was actually receiving was careful and caring. James used his tongue to guide Q’s tongue over the extra row of teeth he had in his mouth without cutting it, his lips surprisingly soft. He pushed him as close to him as he could, dragging his hands down his back until he reached just above his dorsal fin. He didn’t tickle or slap it like Q had seen him do to all the others, but tugged in his usual playful way, neck rumbling with his chuckles.

 

“If this is a sick joke,” Q breathed out as he pulled his head back a little, “I will have you executed because I—”

 

James hushed him and kissed his nose, slowly rolling around with him. “If anyone even dares to think of playing such a cruel joke on you, I’ll personally rip their throats open…”

 

“And I’ll rip their limbs,” Alec whispered in his ear, using one of his tentacles to get Q to turn his head around. “By the way, James, the security in here is absolutely horrendous,” he said without looking away from Q’s eyes, softly biting down on his lower lip. “I think I could have snuck away after that first day. But, to be honest…” He trailed off and suddenly kissed Q, tugging James over them.

 

This kiss could last forever, but Q broke it to moan when James started to nibble on his shoulder – gently and carefully, never biting down hard enough to draw milk or pull out a deadly chunk of meat from him, but still enough to leave clear marks.

 

“Father will lose it when he sees them, James,” Q murmured and the shark-man pulled him away from Alec and started to spin madly around the room with him, almost bumping into the higher shelves three times. “Bloody hell, Bond, what are you doing?” Q squeaked, tail around him and nails digging in his back, afraid he’d slip.

 

“I am simply enjoying the way my name sounds when it rolls of your tongue, Q. You haven’t called me that in ages.” He kissed his nose and pushed him up against a wall, attacking his neck. “Call me that again,” he growled, rubbing against him. “Call it for the castle to hear and know, because I am tired of scaring dukes and lords away from you. _Moan_ mine and then moan Alec’s.”

 

“Giving your prince orders, Captain?” Q managed to gasp out, his hands pinned above his head by Alec’s tentacles. “James, you really need to retrain every guard on this floor if Alec got in here so easily.”

 

But no sooner had Q finished talking that the room filled with soldiers who pinned Alec’s tentacles to the ground and wall next to Q’s head, the king himself slamming James away from the prince, pushing his sword against his neck.

 

“I think they don’t need any more training,” Alec tried to joke, not even flinching when an overzealous soldier pushed his sword in his side. “Okay, maybe they need that when it comes to—”

 

“You will hold your tongue, octopus!” The king interrupted him, grabbing Q by the back of his neck to study the marks on it. “You dare side with the enemy and try to kill the prince who you were charged with protecting, Bond?” He sneered, covering Q’s mouth to keep him from talking.

 

“We were not—”

 

“ ** _Silence!_** ” The king bellowed, the whole ocean shaking with his anger. “I will not listen to your lies, _traitor_. You shall stand trial right here and be executed in the same place, hear head, alongside with the octopus’ and its tentacles shall decorate my city’s walls.”

 

Q started to struggle harder, trying to bite his father’s hand and push him away with his tail, but when his grandmother touched his neck gently – and she was terrifying woman that commanded respect without even glancing your way and struck fear in the hearts of many despite not wearing the water’s crown a single minute in her life – he froze. “Bond isn’t lying and the octopus’ interest in my nephew has nothing to do with his the taking of his life,” she said shortly, slapping her son’s hand away from Q’s mouth. “Isn’t that right, Q?”

 

“We were on the verge of copulating.” A few soldiers dropped their swords and his father looked like he was close to having a heart attack. “And I assure you that it was wanted on all parts, so do not even think of accusing them of unspeakable acts.”

 

His grandmother slowly moved to Alec, using a pike to lift one of his tentacles, examining its suckers. “So your father’s punishment taught you nothing, Alec.”

 

Alec’s tentacle flinched, the woman pushing it away just as she was about to be hit by it. “It is such a huge pleasure to see you again, M. And an unwanted honour to be remembered by a witch such as yourself.”

 

“The feeling is mutual,” she sneered. “I wonder what your father might be willing to do to get his heir back.”

 

Alec shrugged, managing to free three of his tentacles for a moment before they were nailed to the ground again. “Well if you are referring to me, than I will have to disappoint you by telling you that I am no longer my father’s heir. I am nothing more but a traitor at this point in time and to be honest, I don’t think they’ll change their mind any time soon.”

 

“Well that is such a pity because it means that I have no use for you. Guards—”

 

“Grandmother, please don’t,” Q pleaded, throwing himself against the woman. “I am sure you can find _some_ use for him. He’s an excellent fighter,” he assumed, “swims as fast as James, and you might use his paralysing poison to coat your weapons in.” He started to struggle to get the weapons out of Alec’s tentacles, James sneering at the soldiers until he got by Q’s side and started to help him. “And James is simply wonderful and you all already know that.”

 

His father huffed, but his grandmother spoke up before him. “And what guarantee do we have that they will not turn their backs on us when we need them the most, kill the king, kill me, and deliver your head as a gift to the octopus leader so Alec might regain his royal status and Bond clemency?”

 

Alec flexed his tentacles, sending all the weapons shooting out from them and wrapped himself around James and Q. “My word and my heart, M.”

 

“Mine as well,” James quipped in, nuzzling Q’s neck before the merman got completely covered by bloody tentacles. “Before anyone can harm him, they must get through us and I can assure you that’s not an easy thing to do.” He moved in front of Alec then, starting to shed his human appearance. “We’ll protect him from all who want him harmed, even from his own family.”

 

The soldiers gathered around the king and his mother, shaking slightly as they pointed their weapons at the humongous shark that could easily swallow one of them, weapon and all. But M clicked her tongue and pushed the soldiers away from her, swimming up to James and slapping him. “Are you done having your hissy fit, Bond?” She flicked his nose and he returned to normal, head held high. “If either one of you two ever dares to do something like this again, I shall damn my ill-advised nephew’s feelings and kill you on the spot.”

 

“Mother, you can’t—”

 

“The day in which you can tell me what I can and can’t do regarding _my_ servants is still far from us,” she interrupted him, elbowing Alec in the right place to get him to drop on the floor like a rock, freeing Q from the wanted grasp. “I expect the two of you in my room in one hour. Who I assume to be your new mate will lead you there.” She patted his head and flashed him a rare kind smile, swimming away, followed by the shocked king and the trembling soldiers.

 

“What just happened?” Alec asked after Q was done bandaging his tentacles, tugging on his dorsal fin to get his attention.

 

“My kind grandmother—”

 

“Are we talking about the same witch?” James joked, ending up with a mouth full of Q’s tail – not that it really bothered him, the shark-man taking it and covering it in kisses.

 

“My kind grandmother has spared both of your lives and my feelings as well as given us her blessing to become mates.” He was sure that she had devised a deadly plan in which Alec and James had just turned into her most prized pawns, but if he was going to be by their side to protect him, they _should_ be safe.

 

Alec pushed his face in his size, nuzzling his scars. “Well, if we are now mates, I think we should make sure that everyone knows, right, James?” He slowly wrapped his tentacles around Q’s tail, tugging him close.

 

“Alec, you are to meet with my grandmother in less than half of hour and I assure you that she does not take kindly to her servants being late.” He still tilted his head to the side to give Alec more access to his neck, wrapping an arm around James’ neck. “However, it seems that I suddenly forgot where her chambers are and it might take us two hours—”

 

“Three,” Alec corrected him, running his hands down his back.

 

“Four,” James chimed in, licking Q’s neck. “Maybe even five hours to find that old witch’s lair.”

 

Q shivered and moaned, rolling his eyes in the back of his head in pleasure, deaf to the laboratory’s door being locked. “I am sure we can make it six and I do promise to visit you in the dark hole you both will be sent for the next week for disrespecting my grandmother in such a way.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are love~


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